Pictures from the Lower Mainland and the tail end of our hot springs tour.

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Natalia was really happy we had planned on taking the ferry that had the sweet brunch on it.
This is from Schwartz Bay to Tsawassen as we're arriving in Tsawassen. I won't comment on the
fact that we found a campsite at well past 11 the night before or the outstanding shower that
Natalia had courtesy of my camping stove. Needless to say, it was a great morning.

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We had the great fortune of being able to visit with my friend Matthew Harms, his wife Heidi, and
their lovely daughter Saffron.

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Here is Mom, anxiously awaiting bun #2. We had a nice lunch at a Vietnamese place.

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Matt and Heidi took us to their beautiful new home. We had a really nice visit and this picture
is in their huge back yard.

Harrison Hot Springs

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Our next stop was at Harrison Hot Springs on the banks of Harrison lake. Since I didn't have
any interest in paying the big dollars to stay at the resort, we slummed it in their municipal
pool, which is also fed by the same waters.

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This pool had flair and harkened back to the early 80s. The wood paneling at the top was a nice touch.

The Okanagan

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After Harrison, we made the trek up the Coquihalla and into the lovely Okanagan.
Arriving late, we made camp at a nice (but overpriced) campsite in Peachland. We also hit up
the local farmer's market, which turned out to be more of a crafts market (blech). This sign,
however, made up for it. How sweet is Butt Rd?

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The next stop was the most pretentious winery I've been to outside of California - Mission Hill.
It's a nice enough place, but I prefer my wine the way I take my coffee - simple and not too fancy.

Nakusp and the Arrow Lakes

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This is an actual cable ferry crossing the lake from Needles to Fauquier.

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Nakusp Hot Springs, Nakusp, BC. This was a short drive from the town of Nakusp in the
interior of BC south of Revelstoke. If they ever build a bridge at Galena Bay, this area
will absolutely blow up.

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One of the things that makes this hot spring awesome is the tanning areas complete with shade
if you want it. Also, these springs were incredibly clean. We camped just outside the hot springs
the night before and found it quite nice (other than the bear on the way in). I couldn't get
a good picture of the hummingbirds but they also added to the pool's attraction.

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We stopped and had lunch at this rest stop on the way to check out more hot springs.

St Leon hot springs

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After a longer-than-I-wanted drive up gravel logging roads, we made our way to the infamous
St Leon's hot springs. The guitar-shaped concrete pool is visible here. A hose in the pool
brings water from the spring itself to the pool as well as water from a nearby stream.

Halfway Hot Springs

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The Halfway hot springs were a little further up the road and even deeper in on a logging road.
I thought we were lost until we came upon a gradual descent trail towards the river level.
This is one of the colder pools.

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This was an older style soaking pool made with plastic to keep the mud out. It was quite
grimy and full of algae so we passed on this one.

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This was where the money was at. The springs themselves moved some pretty hot water, so it
was just a question of taking a hose and moving some water to an appropriate place. These
stoners had made some nice pools with rocks that we didn't mind joining.

Halcyon Hot Springs

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By the time we got to Halcyon, we had already been to 3 hot springs. Even though there is lithium
in the water, we decided to take a pass. It's clear they're trying to take this resort upmarket.

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Natalia looking out on Lower Arrow Lake and Halcyon Hot Springs.

Ainsworth Hot Springs

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On the way into Ainsworth, we came across this hotel. We thought Natalia's sister would
enjoy it since she likes mermaids.

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The Ainsworth Hot Springs was definitely a highlight on the trip. It's clearly been here for
years and the caves here are pretty unique. More information on this and other hot springs
are HERE .

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What do you think? 9 hot springs over the course of our vacation. Not too bad I'd say. It
was the first time I had taken 2 consecutive weeks of holidays since 2002 and I even shut off
the email on my Blackberry! Um, more vacation time please!